[log] your violet eyelids open to say 'here's where you've been'

[apostatised]

[07:49] * Candice is here. Tiny, adorable Cubana girl--probably somewhat familiar--though she's rounder-faced than her future version, owing to still being young and naive and all of that.
[07:51] * Martel seems to register her /before/ he looks up, and while he's remarkably good at concealing his reactions there's a split second of shock. It's probably a good thing the glass wasn't anywhere near his mouth.
[07:51] * Candice fidgets with her hair, averting her eyes. "Um, hi?" WHERE IS THIS :(
[07:52] Martel: "...hello," Martel says, cautiously. "Are you lost?"
[07:52] Candice: "I think I might be," she admits, biting her lip.
[07:53] * Martel exhales. "This is the nexus. Specifically, a bar called 'Stigmata'. You're safe until it decides to let you leave again."
[07:54] Candice: "...how...long might that be?"
[07:54] Martel: "A matter of hours seems to be usual."
[07:55] * Candice sinks down onto a sofa with a worried look. "At least it won't be as bad as last time, then..."
[07:55] * Martel ... cocks his head. "'Last time'?"
[07:57] * Candice shakes her head, arms wrapped around herself. "I've been taken places before. But not like this, I mean it's...supernatural, right? You seem so comfortable, though..."
[07:58] Martel: "In a manner of speaking it is," he says, after a moment. "The nexus is a place...betwixt reality, as it were." He's a little dry. "It's everything that is."
[07:58] Candice: "Oh."
[07:58] * Candice just sits there, processing that.
[07:59] * Martel salutes lazily with his glass. "I'm comfortable because I'm long accustomed to strangeness."
[08:01] Candice: "I hope I get to that point soon. Without getting shot again."
[08:02] Martel: "Good luck."
[08:04] * Candice curls up on the sofa. "Um...I'm Candice, by the way."
[08:05] Martel: "Yes." ...uh. Martel grimaces into his glass. "Hello. Martel."
[08:09] * Candice looks unsure, like she might've done something wrong. "I know someone in high school with that name." Hasn't twigged they're almost the same, obviously. "Um...did I do something wrong?" D:
[08:12] * Martel exhales. "No, you didn't." ...he does look like he just spontaneously developed a migraine, though.
[08:14] Candice: "Are you okay?" :( Fussing. From a 15 year old.
[08:14] * Martel actually smiles briefly, through the...awkward. "Startled."
[08:15] Candice: "How come?"
[08:16] Martel: "It'd be very difficult to explain."
[08:16] Candice: "Oh. ...God, it seems like that's the case for everything anymore. Sorry, I don't mean to be a whiny teenager, just..." She sighs.
[08:17] * Martel 's smile turns a little sardonic, murmuring, "...and of course the irony is you truly /will/ understand when you're older..."
[08:18] * Candice huffs a little laugh. "Yeah, if I make it out of high school alive."
[08:21] Martel: "I have a feeling you'll manage."
[08:23] * Candice half-smiles. "Sure hope so. ...so. Well. What goes on in here?"
[08:24] Martel: "Not a great deal. Encounters like this, casual socializing, my working out of here to make life more difficult for my employees."
[08:34] Candice: "What do you do?" :O
[08:35] Martel: "Right now? A lot of planning and overseeing of renovations. Drawing up plans."
[08:39] Candice: "Renovating--a house? A business?" She smooths down her skirt, attentive.
[08:40] Martel: "My castle."
[08:40] * Candice goes ...................... :O
[08:41] * Martel smiles very, very slightly. "My home and place of business, as it were."
[08:42] Candice: "That's...impressive. It must have cost a lot? Unless it's something you inherited..."
[08:43] Martel: "I sold my inherited estates a long time ago. This is a recent acquisition - I have a few arrangements with the clan I purchased the land from."
[08:44] Candice: "...clan. I'm imagining Highlanders."
[08:45] * Martel cocks his eyebrow. "Arum is mountain country," he says, carefully, not sure what she's referencing.
[08:53] Candice: "Do they wear kilts?" :V
[08:53] Martel: "As a matter of fact, they do."
[08:59] * Candice ...stifles a giggle behind her hand. Incidentally, this is when her door reappears, as if she is TOO INNOCENT >:( to hear about these strange kilts.
[08:59] * Martel rolls his eyes tolerantly, and nods towards it. "Your door, Candice."
[09:01] * Candice smiles. "It was nice meeting you." And out she goes, with a curious glance backwards. Something about him was strangely familiar...but as it is, she's gone.
[09:02] * Martel puts the wine glass aside and goes to find that whiskey bottle.
[09:04] Candice: And about ten minutes later, a totally different-but-the-same woman comes sidling in, intending to stop off here before she arrives at home (the castle). She looks surprised, but pleased, to see Martel. "Hello."
[09:04] * Martel salutes her with his glass. "Imagine meeting you here."
[09:05] Candice: "Surprise, surprise, yes." She goes over to him. "What are you up to?"
[09:05] * Martel contemplates this. "Drinking," he decides.
[09:06] * Martel is not drunk, but he's certainly considering getting that way.
[09:06] Candice: "Well, yes, I see that. Any particular reason?"
[09:07] Martel: "Drowning discomfort. What have you been doing?"
[09:07] Candice: "Discussing boundaries," she says, wryly, "Would you like my company?"
[09:09] * Martel actually has to consider this, hold on.
[09:10] * Candice ...is puzzled, and uh, a little dismayed by this.
[09:11] Martel: "I'm sorry," he says, when he notices, "Apparently the nexus took exception to my doubts about your youth. It was startling." There, have that explanation. Such as it is.
[09:11] Candice: "Oh. Wait, you /met/--how old--?"
[09:12] Martel: "I'd estimate...anywhere from fourteen to sixteen."
[09:12] * Candice ...whistles low. "That was a rough age. I'm sorry, this must be incredibly awkward for you."
[09:12] Martel: "Moderately."
[09:13] * Martel has the scotch out, she can ignore him and draw her own conclusions there.
[09:14] Candice: "I /can/ go, if you like," she offers.
[09:15] Martel: "I'd really prefer you didn't."
[09:15] Candice: "All right. Are you going to be unhappy if I kiss you hello?" She raises her eyebrows at him.
[09:16] Martel: "I could probably bear it," he says straightfaced.
[09:17] Candice: "Try," Candice suggests, leaning down to do just that.
[09:18] * Martel ... has a fascinating definition of 'hello' that involves 'reacquainting himself with the fact Candice is definitely not a child'.
[09:19] * Candice should probably not be surprised. Presuming he's seated somewhere convenient for as much, she'll sit with him. If it's not convenient for that, she'll sit /on/ his lap.
[09:19] * Martel is just deeply discomforted by tiny versions of his woman, okay. .......................except the ones that are 'tiny' as in 'short' and occupying lap-space. He's okay with those.
[09:21] Candice: Pretty much all Candices are short, it is TERRIBLE. Though one assumes Martel doesn't mind. "Little less discomfort?" she teases.
[09:25] Martel: "Mm. A little." He drums his fingers against the side of her thigh.
[09:26] Candice: "Do you believe me now? About what I was like?"
[09:27] * Martel gives her slanted look. "No." Driest of dry.
[09:27] * Candice bites the underside of his jaw. "Funny."
[09:27] Martel: "Ask a silly question."
[09:28] Candice: "I don't know if you're aware of this, but /sometimes/ you can be stubborn. And I can never predict when it'll flare up." More biting. And...kissing, hello.
[09:38] Martel: "I prefer 'single-minded'." It's not any better, Martel.
[09:39] * Candice leans on him. "Well. Sorry the Nexus threw you for a loop today."
[09:39] * Martel grimaces, leaning his head against the back of the chair. "It happens."
[09:41] Candice: "So you're going to drink your cares away?" She looks skeptical of this method. Also, is pressing her fingertips against his throat, lightly. ...why.
[09:42] Martel: "Well, there are alternatives, but if I keep doing that we're going to get tired."
[09:42] * Candice goes /crimson/. "Not in the /bar/, anyway!"
[09:42] Martel: "Certainly not." He's not laughing /at all/.
[09:44] * Candice ..........indignantly and fairly vindictively BITES his throat, which will probably not actually deter him, Candice.
[09:50] Martel: "I don't know how to tell you this-" 'dryly' seems to be the method of choice, "-but that's not punishment."
[09:50] Candice: "I'll come up with something else, then." She moves to slide out of his lap.
[09:53] * Martel lets her, raising his eyebrows. He can't really ask what he did to deserve that or any variations, considering the likelihood if it plonking his issues down between them like a gauntlet, so he lets the eyebrow speak for itself.
[09:55] * Candice just smiles at him. ...and takes a leaf out of Enfys's book to sprawl on the bar. Um. Martel, you're teaching her to taunt, stop it. "Aside from the Nexus being bizarre, what are you up to?" Ever so innocently!
[09:56] Martel: "Doesn't that cover...mm, more or less everything I do?"
[09:57] Candice: "Well, fair enough." She half-closes her eyes.
[10:05] * Martel watches her for a moment longer, then /actually/ closes his eyes. He's totally capable of sprawling while upright, he can certainly make himself comfortable in this chair.
[10:06] Candice: "Oh," she says, suddenly, and it's probably good she's out of his grasp given how she chooses to bring this up, "I'm reminded--my parents know now."
[10:06] * Martel opens his eyes. For the moment, that's the extent of his reaction.
[10:08] * Candice glances his way, curious.
[10:08] Martel: "Ah," he says, helpfully, when it becomes clear he should react.
[10:09] Candice: "...right." She half-laughs a little, ruefully embarrassed. "Just--thought I'd update you."
[10:09] Martel: "No, yes, I'm sorry. I'm not-" he makes a vague, helpless sort of gesture.
[10:11] * Candice looks confused, and sits up on the bar. "What's wrong?"
[10:11] * Martel shakes his head. "I'm having trouble keeping up right now. It's nothing."
[10:13] Candice: "Well..." She goes to stand next to him. "Then let's slow down."
[10:14] * Martel gives her a wry look. "I don't know how you intended that to come across, but it isn't helping."
[10:14] Candice: "What?" Her expression is blank.
[10:16] * Martel detaches, slightly. "Perhaps you had a point about the wisdom of drinking," he says, instead, "That'd account for dulling."
[10:16] * Candice twigs, a few seconds later. "Oh. No, I don't mean...with /this/, we could just take a couple of days to--" She doesn't think 'vacation' would apply. "Not plan. Not...I don't know, you seem overwhelmed?" And distant, which worries her.
[10:17] * Martel breathes out, massaging his forehead absently. "Overwhelmed." Like he's testing the word.
[10:18] Candice: "It happens to the best of us," she says, touching his shoulder gently. And he's in a fragile state right now, though she would never in a /trillion years/ say that to his face.
[10:31] * Martel would undoubtedly take that badly. "Then there's-" no, he stops himself, grimacing. "I know."
[10:33] * Candice sinks down on his lap again, and kisses him very purposefully, like she's making a point. "Let yourself breathe. We don't have to have everything organized immediately, we can just...enjoy each other. And this."
[10:37] * Martel sets his hands at her waist - it's automatic, now, if she's close then he'll touch her. He sort of half-laughs at 'breathe', leaning against her. "I don't seem very enjoyable /right/ now." Thaaaat is a toned down version of what he'd thought. "You're extraordinarily patient."
[10:39] Candice: "It's extraordinarily worth it." She smiles, slightly. "I'm not always that enjoyable, either."
[10:43] Martel: "I beg to differ." Ghost of a smile.
[10:46] Candice: "You have a magical ability to find me enjoyable sopping wet just out of the shower with no make-up on," she says, crinkling her nose and almost laughing, "It's great incentive."
[10:47] Martel: "Darling, I have a all sorts of magical abilities. I /promise/ that one isn't mystical at all."
[10:47] * Martel isn't quite up to scratch, but would he really be Martel if he let that stop him.
[10:48] * Candice does laugh, into his shoulder, now. "I do like it when you call me that."
[10:52] Martel: "Do you?"
[10:53] Candice: "Mm. You have a knack for saying things just so."
[10:53] Martel: "A honed talent. Don't tell anyone."
[10:54] Candice: "I would never. I hate to share," she says, seriously.
[10:55] Martel: "It's so nice to find things we have in common."
[10:57] Candice: "You have nothing to worry about in that regard," she informs him, "I'm the one who's got to worry. Mysterious man in a castle? You'll have errant young women peering around the grounds for weeks."
[10:57] Martel: "Ah, yes. Now I remember why I never stayed in one place very long." Yes, /that's/ why.
[10:58] * Candice is probably underestimating the time, actually. "I'll fight them off," she says, seriously.
[10:58] Martel: "My hero."
[11:01] * Candice looks at him carefully, and then kisses him, quick and light. "We always get on tangents."
[11:01] Martel: "I've noticed that." He's often /responsible/ for that, that might have something to do with how it came to his attention.
[11:06] Candice: "I'm sure. What do you want to do?"
[11:07] Martel: "I have no idea," he says, entirely honest.
[11:09] Candice: "Well, how's this--you finish up whatever you were working on, I'll get us dinner, and we can spend the rest of the night making absolutely no important decisions or life changes."
[11:11] Martel: "I don't think I can object to that."
[11:13] Candice: "Any requests?" Be...sides the neck-kissing, which she is doing to try to settle him. Whether it has any effect is debatable but she's thinkin' unlikely. Worth a shot.
[11:15] Martel: "Mm, not for dinner."
[11:15] Candice: "For something else?"
[11:19] Martel: "I'll give it some thought." First, though, he's going to kiss her again. ...for a while.
[11:21] Candice: Kissing she cannot object to. It is not the gentlest kissing in the world, but that's probably not a huge surprise--she does encourage that, in her way, which probably surprises a lot of people who know her in other contexts.
[11:26] * Martel is, without a doubt, a fan of it regardless.
[11:27] Candice: "You," she mutters in his ear, "get a kick out of doing this to me in places where I can't--" Um.
[11:28] * Martel slides his mouth down her neck instead of answering that, which is an answer in and of itself.
[11:31] Candice: "Martel--" That's not as vehement a protest as she'd intended it to be, dammit, Martel. Meanwhile, she goes perceptibly pink upon recalling what happened last time they were kissing like this in this bar--she ended up flat on her back on a table.
[11:32] Martel: "Mmmmm?" Humming against the side of her neck, probably not helping.
[11:34] * Candice abruptly and roughly rakes her nails up over his back. Maybe as revenge.
[11:36] * Martel makes an indistinct sound against her collarbone. "...dinner. We were going to have dinner."
[11:37] Candice: "Yes." She should maybe not...bite his ear then, should she. "Dinner, and then I'll do whatever you want." Hi.
[11:41] Martel: "Very trusting." He kisses her - forcefully brief - and nudges her off his lap. "I don't have much left to do with this." The notes, on the table.
[11:41] * Candice is currently in the process of, uh, fixing her clothing. Why you gotta muss her up every time, Martel. "I am. And good--would you like me to stay, or should I meet you?"
[11:42] Martel: "I'll meet you. ...where will I meet you." Precisely.
[11:45] Candice: "Back home, I suppose?" She shrugs.
[11:46] Martel: "Home is very large," he reminds her, which is not unlike saying 'the grass is green' in regards to that place.
[11:50] * Candice sways on her feet, thoughtful. "Your suite's sitting room would do me fine, honestly, but if you have a preference for me, by all means..." /Phrasing/.
[11:50] Martel: "I'll see you in the sitting room." He clears his throat. "Thank you, Candice."
[11:51] * Candice pauses and looks at him. "Well, what else am I for?" She leans down to kiss him again, but doesn't let it linger this time.
[11:52] * Martel touches her hair, lightly, before she's out of his reach.
[11:55] * Candice watches him for a second, says "see you at home," and goes.